Love, Truth, and Loyalty
by FeatherTreeForest
Summary: Genevieve, a girl who remembers little of the time before enslavement. Jasmine, a girl from our world with an inner beast fighting to get out. One is offered the chance of freedom and the other acceptance. Enter Johanna who has always been held in the grip of court society. Lives collide and sparks fly as they grow closer and learn to lean on each other as a family. *Rest inside*
1. Chapter 1

Feathers: Hi people! What cha doin?

Felix: What kind of question is that? what does it look like there doing?

Rin: Why so sullin, Felix?

Felix: hump!

Jena: Ignore the fox, (Rolling of eyes) he's just grumpy to day.

Love, Truth, and Loyalty-

Chapter One

Once upon a time I was the daughter of a wealthy trader who was very successful. But, as is seen so often in life, all good things must come to an end. So, as you may have guest, there was a time when we could no longer afford to live the way we were accustomed.

Unknown to me, for I was very young then, father was about to loose the business because we (the Talmarines) were at war again with the Narnians and the army had bought all the supplies from Father at war time price, which I know now to be three-fourths the average.

I still remember that day.

When Father came home with a worried look on his face and ushered Mama into the bedroom to talk, I didn't know what was going on, but decided to listen at the door. I stood there with my ear pressed to the door, but all I could hear was urgent whispers. I gave up after a moment and decided to set the table for dinner.

Dinner its self was a quiet affair which was normal since my sisters and I had been raised to be "seen but not heard". I'd say that was quite an achievement with six girls ranging from three to eleven, but back then it was a common sight. Nowadays children are allowed to run wild in the streets, carefree and unattended, but that's for another time.

Shortly after dinner, Father left again on some errand or other while we were tucked into bed and Mama told us a bed time story. I could tell her heart wasn't in it though, she seamed waited down. Whatever Father had said couldn't have been that bad.

Could it?

That was the last thing on my mind as I slid into sleep. I don't think I slept much though because next thing I knew, Father was shaking me awake with a finger to his lips. It wasn't an hour past dawn yet and I wondered what was going on. I opened my mouth to ask but Sara, my eleven-year-old sister, shushed me. When I gave her a questioning look she just shrugged like she didn't know any more than I did.

Megan, the youngest, came over and grabbed hold of my hand. I looked down to see her sucking on her thumb and her stuffed bunny firmly held in the in the crook of her elbow. Ella (eight) came up and grabbed my other hand and we fallowed Father down the hall to the room at the front of the house. In the doorway stood a short, grubby man in wrinkled cloths.

I didn't like him one bit.

He was the sort of man Mama would warn us against approaching, especially at night. Father, oblivious to our wary dislike, took Rebecca's (5) and Alexis' (9) hands and pulled them towards the door. We fallowed.

The man stepped aside to let us out the door. In the street stood a string of scraggily, young boys and girls all with there hands in chains and eyes to the ground. Father led us over to them and the dirty man grabbed Sara's arm and shackled her to the line. He quickly did the same to Alexis and Ella.

I was well and truly scared now. "Father, what is happening?" I asked as the man dragged me over and added me to the end of the line.

He did not say a word as the man locked Rebecca and Megan into place behind me. I stared at him in confusion. "Father, what is happening?" I asked again. He gave me such a cold and uncaring look that I shrank away from him, but could not look away until the man kicked me so I stumbled and had to look forward.

We didn't have far to walk, just to the cities holding pens. For three days I held on the hope that this wasn't happening, that it was all a dream. Some cruel nightmare my imagination had conjured up. We didn't see anyone in those three days, our food was slipped under the door on trays.

That is, if you could call it food. It was some kind of porridge the color of mortar and just as hard and tasteless.

On the third day someone did open the door. At the creaking of the hinges we looked up, hope on every face. In stepped….. "Mama" I cried and was about to get up when I saw them. Encircling her wrists were shackles and covering her face was the burse the shape of a large man's hand. The indentation of the ring on Mama's cheek made it unmistakably Fathers print.

That was when I realized that this was not a dream. I was not going to wake up. My Father had sold us, his family who he had supposedly loved, into slavery.

On that day, my seventh birthday, I learned my first lesson of many I would need to survive in the unforgiving clutches of the slave trade.

Trust No One

**So... what do you think? let me know by sending me a review, please (begging on bended knees) **


	2. Chapter Two (revised)

Chapter Two

Over the years I was bought and sold and learned to keep my tongue and my thoughts to my self if I didn't want to get a lashing. I still have scars showing all over my legs and back from before I learned the value of silence. And I, like every other slave around that had gained some sort of common sense, had no wish to add more.

_Sixteen years later…_

"Get a move on it you cow! Stop slacking and stir that gravy before it burns on the bottom!" Donned in a black and not quite white dress and apron that every other member of the kitchen staff wore, the decidedly thin girl the insult had been aimed at expertly ducked Cooks ladle and stirred aforementioned gravy harder.

I heard a nearly silent but telling whoosh of air behind me and danced to the side to avoid the ladle as it slammed down on the counter, all the while keeping up the steady rhythm of kneading the dough with my knuckles. I looked up at Cook who towered over me by several inches.

I dipped my chin in acknowledgment and gave my longest friend a thin but warm smile."The children?" I asked quietly, eyes back on my task.

His eyes softened and he smiled back, "Good, thank you for asking Genevieve. Do you believe you may have some time after clean up to go and visit? Little Leah has been asking for her 'Aunty Gena' all week."

"Of course," was my quiet reply. "How could I deny such a pretty, well mannered girl?" I looked at him side ways and batted my lashes at him in a mock-flirtatious manor.

"Ahh-haa," he said, the hand holding the ladle raised in triumph as if he had gained something of great knowledge. "I was wondering who had been teaching her such things," he explained, eyes twinkling.

I gave him a look that clearly said, 'not me, surly?'Cook just winked at me and moved on while I went back to work, placing a dozen large bread pans in the oven to bake.

Time passed by quickly as I and six others -supervised by Cook, the only one assigned to the kitchen who was free- prepared the evening meal. Soon the maids (only five in number) came sweeping in to carry the dishes out to the elegant (but much less so than the one they used to host dinners at court) dinning room. I was surprised when one of the maids came over and cleared her throat. When I turned and gave her my full attention, she gave the surrounding bustle a once over to make sure no one would see her talking to a Collar before speaking.

"We are short a maid. You are to fill in for her. Come." She gave my flour-covered and liquid-splattered apron and dress a once over, nose wrinkling, "You must change." Short and to the point, something in her voice making it clear she really didn't want to be doing this. With that, she turned and led me over to one of several pantries, handed me a maid's uniform, and pushing me inside. Assuming she (lack of association combined with constant new faces meant it was likely I would never know her name) would watch the door regardless of what she thought of associating with a Collar –women of the commoner classes had to watch each other in certain things no matter how low in station. There were just some things that crossed all borders.

I changed quickly and left the tatty dress I usually wore behind a stack of pickle jars. I stepped out and once again followed the girl over to the table piled precariously with dishes to take out. She handed me a tray of venison and instructed me to balance it on the flat of my palm, level with my head. I complied and continued to follow the girl, this time out into the grand dining room. I had been in there many times before when I was polishing the furniture, so the grandeur of it was completely lost on me as I did my best not to let my balance falter. The last thing I needed was to drop the tray on the polished wood floor, or worse, on one of the Masters or Mistresses. That would get me whipped within an inch of my life to be sure.

I wobbled slightly as I made my way over to the table and gentle set it down between a bowl of mashed potatoes and a basket of worm, golden rolls. I flinched in surprise and almost spilled a cup of wine when I felt a hand on my hip. I froze as the hand slid down my leg, almost like a caress, but more possessive. The two layers of skirt felt way to thin a barrier to have between me and the all too familiar hand.

I dreaded what I would see, but, keeping my face carefully blank, I turned towards the hand's owner anyway as was expected of me. My light blue eyes met with hazel and I had to suppress a shudder of recognition.

Master Braden was home.

"Master," I mumbled through suddenly numb lips, having only the presences of mind to drop my gaze to the floor and give a deep curtsy in response to his attention before bolting for the kitchens. I burst through the door, nearly knocking a bowl of wild rice out of another maid's hand, and ran for the pantry I had changed in. Shedding the maid's uniform, I found my dress and yanked it on, not caring who might walk in. My hands were shaking so violently that it took me three times to do up the buttons. My knees gave way and I collapsed on the floor in a heap, whimpering.

I was so scared right then that I couldn't move a muscle.

Master Braden was back.

That _monster_ was back.

I had to get away, I had to leave. Now that he knew I was still here and hadn't been sold (as was no doubt per his orders), he would send for me and I would have no choose but obey. I had seen what he did to the slaves he took to his bed. The ones that went willingly seemed to make it in tacked, burses, and once a broken bone but still themselves.

Those he forced didn't come back at all. The sight of that sun-kissed face from almost daily outside excursions with that ever-present leer that seemed to be just for me rose up in my minds eye. And his own hazel ones held the look of a wolf when it knew it had cornered its prey. I shook and tried to fold in on myself, giving off a low keen barely loud enough to be heard by my own ears.

I don't know how much time passed before Cook found me, but when he did I was still in a heap on the floor. I couldn't muster the strength of will to command my muscles to stop convulsing never mind the concentration it took to get my feet under me.

"Oh, Genevieve….," He swiped a hand over his face, which had seemed to have aged twenty years in only moments. "I have only just heard." He stooped down with a grunt of effort and got on his knees. "You should not worry yet, he may not send for you tonight," he said as he gathered me up and hugged me to his chest.

I felt frozen, like one wrong move would send me in shattered little pieces across the floor. But that was not why I made no attempt to put distance between us. With my ear against his chest, I could here the steady beat of his heart –reassuring. The exact opposite effect a man's touch usually had with me. Men scare me to death, ever since I was little, but Cook is the only man I remember never being afraid to be around. He was like a father to me from the moment we first met, even though I was beyond the age of needing raising at the point. He kept at it, the stubborn man, until I no longer flinched when he reached towards me, nor refused to meet his eyes when we spoke.

In every house hold I have ever been in service to since I turned twelve there had been someone, some man, who tried to take advantage of me, but here was one that wanted nothing but the best for me; to shelter me from the world, when I was years beyond when I should have been introduced to it. He was truly a God send, though he denied it quit humbly when I had gathered the courage to tell him so.

I have barley managed to keep hold of my virginity all these years. I don't want to loose it now and not to him. I don't remember much of my childhood, the little bit of it I had, but I do remember Mama's opinion on people he found pleasure in the pain of others. She used to say that people like him weren't even human, they were demons. It is an appt description.

The door opened and Daisy, one of the more timid but longer-lasting maids, poked her head in. "Th-th-there you are Gen." My name came out in a shuddery breath and I knew what was coming. "M-m-master Br-Braden has retired to his r-room for the night and wants y-you to join h-him there after a bath."

Her face was bone white and fear clouded her eyes, for me most certainly, but I could see behind that look to a little relieved thought thanking all that was Holy that it _wasn't her_. I could not bring myself to blame or resent her. In her position, I would have thought the same. Daisy withdrew quickly, leaving us in a heavy, despairing silence. The strength even to shiver had left me and I was simply _cold_ even up against Cook's radiating heat.

I felt like I was slowly cracking apart.

**A/N:** I hit 1700 words! Yeah! Next stop, 2,000. Also, I will continue to revise my chapters until I hit a new one, then the author's note will be replaced with 12. Next one's next Tuesday the latest. Promise.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I felt completely frozen, unable to move a mussel. I wasn't aware of making a noise but suddenly Cook was shaking me.

"Genevieve, get a hold of your self!" He shouted in my ear. "You can still get away. He wants you to take a bath first, that will give you a ten minute head start as long as no one sees you." He stopped a moment to think. "This is what we will do. I will take you to my house under pretence of taking the bath there if any one asks. Mary will get together some supplies in a sack and off you'll go. It will be fine." He said reassuringly. "This is not my first time doing this Genevieve." He winked, trying to get me to stop being so glassy eyed.

I'd have to say it didn't work.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and followed Cook out of the pantry.

I didn't know how to feel about it. There was a chance, a hope! And yet, I had a foreboding feeling in the pit of my stomach. It seemed to be settling in for a long stay.

Out in Cook's little two room hut, Mary was playing with Leah on the floor. She stood up and wiped off her skirt when we came in.

"Ben?" she frowned, "why are you back so early?"

Cook was about to reply when there was a cry of, "Aunty Gena!" and Leah jumped up. She ran over and hugged my knees. "Did you come to play with me?" she asked hopefully.

Even in the state I was in, I didn't want to disappoint her. I crouched down. "I can't play right now, Leah, I'm sorry. I have somewhere I have to go." I said sadly.

She looked at me and a look of understanding crossed her face, something not expected from a four year old. "Are you going to the same place the others go? The ones papa brings home some times? They always say they can't play either because they have somewhere to go too." She studied my face for a moment. "Will you be coming back?" she asked in a small voice. "The others never come back."

I wasn't sure how to answer that. "I don't know Leah." I said as a tear slid down my face.

Just one single tear.

That was all I was allowing my self for the moment. To be truthful, that was all I had ever cried since I was six-years-old. That was the second lesson I had learned, never show your tears. It never did you any good to cry or scream when they beat you. Sometimes it made them hit you harder.

"Okay." Leah said solemnly. That just made me want to cry all the more. The fact that this little girl could just up and except that there was nothing she could do about it was heart wrenching.

An idea popped into my head that had me mentally staggering. I could take them with me. Not Cook and Mary but Leah and the baby. If we were given enough of a head start and we weren't seen, we could make it. We weren't too far from the Telamrine\Narnian border. It was true that Narnians didn't waste any love on the Talmarines, but I was certain they were too honorable to harm a lady and two children. Especially since slavery was not condoned in Narnia in any shape or form.

I was starting to see the little sliver of hope now, could feel it glowing warmly in my heart. I looked at Mary who was in the middle of filling an old flour sack with supplies.

"I won't be taking that with me, Mary. Just a blanket or two will be fine. Something I can make slings out of."

Both Cook and Mary were looking at me know. I could see that they didn't understand.

"Leah is getting quite big now. The blanket must be made of strong enough material to support her wait on my back." I continued. "And the other must be able to hold the baby."

Cook still looked slightly confused but Mary's expression had turned to one of understanding and hope. Hope for her children. Hope that they wouldn't have to grow up in this world of work, pain, and heart ach.

"Yes," she whispered, "yes, it could work. Are you sure Genevieve? They will slow you down."

I knew what she wanted me to say and I was fully prepared to follow through with it to.

I smiled thinly, "Yes, Mary I'm sure. I can't believe you had to ask."

Mary went into the bedroom and came out a minute later with a bundled baby Jeremiah.

Cook, who had followed the conversation if not understood it fully, started when Mary proceeded to tie Jeremiah in a sling around my front.

"Wait a moment…. What do you think you are doing?" he asked.

I didn't let him carry on. "Cook, think about it. Do you really want Leah to grow up in the world of slavery and men like Master Braden?" I shuddered as I said the name, "Do you want to live with the possibility that your son could be sent to his death in the mines and you had no power to stop it? Do you?"

He shook his head dumbly and watched Mary finish lashing the unresisting Leah to my back. She had always been an excepting child.

"I didn't think so." I said in a low voice. "Don't worry about us, I hear they take very good care of there women in Narnia." I smiled at him and he smiled back. "I hope to see you two over there some day."

And with that, I turned and walked out the back door with a baby on my front and a four year old strapped to my back.

~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~

Cook returned to the Kitchen to see how everything was going in his absence and to see if anyone had noticed his and Genevieve's disappearance. No one seemed to be paying attention to him short of dodging his ladle. He let out a silent sigh of relief and melded back into his role as lord of the kitchens as if he had never left.

He watched the clock hands move across the face as time flew by. Half an hour later, he was approached by a maid say she was sent by Master Braden to fetch 'the girl' from the bath. Cook broke out in a cold sweat but did his best to keep it together.

He frowned in what he hoped was a convincing way. "I do not know ware she is. Have you checked the place she normally goes to wash?"

The answer he got was not what he had expected.

The maid looked up at him with fear in her eyes and he realized a little too late that she was looking at something, someone, behind him. That someone wrenched him around by his color. He found himself staring into the cold eyes of Master Braden.

"You miserable excuse for a servant, you let her get away, didn't you?" He growled.

He let go of Cook, dropping him on the floor in an undignified heap. Braden kicked him in a rage and swore.

"You!" he said, pointing to the terrified maid, "Go fetch the men. We've got prey to hunt."

An icy shiver went down Cooks back at the look in his eyes. If he caught Genevieve….there was no end to what he would do to her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning! Contains a certain word that's not used in polite society. I think you will understand when you come across it. It describes him so well…..**

Chapter Four

"Aunty Gena?" Leah whispered in my ear.

"Yes?"

"Will we ever see Mama and Dada again?"

"I hope so," was all the answer I could give.

We were trekking through the forest now. From what I had heard or been told, we were only a couple hours walk to the Narnian border. My heart nearly soared with hope. Oh, what a sorely missed word! I thought I had forgotten how to hope after so many years in slavery, but there it was, that light feeling in my chest that made me feel as if my feet had sprouted wings. We were going to make it!

Oh Joy!

I started to walk faster, jogging through the close knight trees careful not to trip. Time passed quickly after that and it was dark before any thought of resting crossed my mind. I lifted Leah out of her sling and, leaving the baby in his, plopped down in the dirt.

"We will sleep here to-night and find food in the morning." I told Leah confidently.

It was not forced.

We curled up in one of the trees encircling roots and drifted off the sleep.

I had a strange dream about a badger and a fox. They approached us while we slept.

_"Are they died?" asked the badger, prodding me in the knee._

_"No, of course not," replied the fox._

_"What should we do with them?" _

_"I suppose we should report it to the border patrol. It looks like we have another slave looking to escape over the border. He'll want to be there to make sure they make it across unlike the last one."_

_"What happened to the last one? He didn't make it over the border?"_

_"Oh, he made it over the border…with an arrow in his back. He died soon after words."_

That was all I could remember of it, it started to fade the moment I woke up. Of course, remembering the contents of my dream wasn't exactly on the top of my list of things to do when I opened my eyes. It was quickly bumped down by 'surviving to cross the border'.

I woke up to a strange zinging noise followed by a thunk that sounded just above my head. I slowly raised my head and looked up. An arrow sat quivering in the trunk. My eyes stretched wide and I followed the flight of the arrow back to its sender.

A man on horse back was sixty yards away, bow in hand. I recognized him as one of the house guards. I whipped my head around to see if I could spot anyone else.

I couldn't.

That didn't necessarily mean much but it gave us a chance. I hopped that they had split up to search the forest and weren't waiting behind the next line of trees. Waiting for me to run like a startled rabbit.

I saw the rider move out of the corner of my eye and I looked back at him. He raised a horn to his lips and blew. Once, twice, three times he blew.

I felt myself grow pale; he was calling to the others.

I scrambled to my feet and heaved the half asleep Leah back into her sling on my back. The baby, thankfully, didn't stir. I glanced over at the man once to make sure that he was still in the same position, and bolted forward. I was ten yards down the path before the third note had faded and didn't look back.

I heard the eco of hoof beats farther off, all of them behind me. This was good, we still had a chance to make it through this. Suddenly, there was a winnie from my left and a horse burst out of the trees and came to a stop in front of me.

The rider was none other than Master Braden.

I felt like a deer cornered by a hunter. I must have looked just as terrified as I felt because he smiled. Seeing that sadistic, predatory smile on his face melted away most of my fear and replaced it with determination.

I was not going to let this sick bastard get away with it.

He will _not_ win. He will _not_ drag me back to that miserable existence.

"Why such an angry face, darling?" His twisted smile didn't falter.

I stepped in close and spat a good one all over his face.

"Now now," he said, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping his face. "Why don't you just come back nice and quiet? How does that sound? I'll even let the little ones go unpunished if you do what you're told. Isn't that generous of me? I think so."

"Over. My. Died. Body" I growled.

He looked so shocked that he almost fell off his horse. I have to admit, I was just as shocked that I was capable of saying something like that and _meaning_ it.

And mean it I did.

I turned and darted around the horse's rear, giving it a hard smack as I passed by. It reared and Braden had to fight to stay on. He managed to keep it from bolting, unfortunately, for that was the effect I was hoping for.

I didn't look back, not even a quick glance, as I ran forward. I knew he was following. I tripped but managed to catch my self before we hit the ground. I scrambled up awkwardly and was about to bound off again when a voice reached my ears.

"Psst! Up here!"

I looked up and met the eyes of a fox sitting up in the tree.

"No time to chat now, follow me if you want to keep your skin intact." He jumped down and disappeared among the trees.

I was surprised by how human his voice sounded. Being so close to the Narnia border did bring in stories of Talking Animals with human voices, but it was one of those things you really didn't believe until you had seen it. Or, well, heard.

A clatter of hooves startled me out of my thoughts and had me running after the fox as if someone had lit a fire under my butt.

I caught site of his (I assumed that it was male by the voice) bushy tail flashing around a huge tree. Now, the whole forest was made up of relatively big trees, but this thing was colossal. It had to be at least six times bigger than any of the others in the entire place. If not bigger.

The baying of a hunting horn and the bark of dogs reached my ears. They had brought the hunting dogs? That settled it. Run now, gawk latter. I had no wish to die by having my throat ripped out and mauled to a bloody mess. That was something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Oh, who was I fooling? I wouldn't wish that on _almost_ anyone.

"Hurry! They're coming!" came the fox's voice.

Scrambling up and over three foot high roots is hard to do carrying two children but I managed not to slip. An arrow passed me, missing its target by mere inches.

Leah screamed, the baby whimpered in his sling.

"Hold on, we're almost there," I said soothingly while another arrow imbedded itself in the trunk where my hand had just been.

I must have made it across the border because the trees were suddenly moving. One lifted me high off the ground in the safety of its branches. Below, the dogs had caught up and were leaping for me and snapping at my ankles.

"Eek!" Leah and I shrieked in unison.

The baby gurgled happily as if this was all great fun.

I yanked my legs up onto the wide branch with me after one of the biggest dogs got way too close to biting off my feet.

A horn blast came from somewhere farther into Narnian territory. There was a boom and a bunch of men on horse back came galloping into the clearing beneath me. They fought off the dogs with swords and spears. It was a gruesome sight even if all the blood was coming from the dogs. None of the horses or riders seamed to be bleeding at all.

_No,_ I thought. _Not horses _and_ riders._

It could have been a trick of the light, but I was certain that I was seeing the legendary centaurs that lived within Narnia alone. Why were they here? Were they…the border patrol the fox had mentioned? They had to be. Why else would they be here except to get rid of the trespassers?

I peered down again as Master Barden and his men rained in there horses just before what I assumed was the border line.

"Why are you here Talmarine?" A voice boomed out, loud and gruff. It carried the air of command so I had to assume it was the leader.

A centaur stepped forward. His horse end was a roan with a black tail. He had wild black hair and piercing eyes. His arms were well muscled and he wore leather plate armor on his torso.

A shiver ran down my back. In all honesty, he scared me. But, taking into consideration that most men scared me, that didn't amount to much.

"You know what we are after. Give us the girl and we will be on our way."

I froze.

Would they give me to them just like that? I was sure they knew I was here. The tree hadn't picked me up on a whim, had it? No. I doubted it. Why would it do that?

"Girl? What girl?" The centaur asked, glancing around. "I do not see any girl here. You must be mistaken sir."

He said 'sir' like one would say 'snake' or 'spider'.

"How stupid do you think we Talmarines are?" Master Braden asked incredulously.

I slapped a hand over my mouth to stifle a giggle. Had he _really_ just asked that?

"I think you're lying to us. You're hiding her somewhere." He continued, kneeing his horse forward.

Two more centaurs leapt forward and bard his path with there crossed spears.

"Do not presume to cross the border." The leader commanded.

In response to Braden's narrowed eyes, he added, "Do you really think that one girl is worth shattering the fragile peace our two countries have shared in the last decade?"

Master Braden backed off and looked to his men. "Fall back. We will leave it for now." 'For now' echoed in my head. _He would be back then._

And with that, he turned and rode away. His men followed close behind.

"That went better than expected." A voice at my elbow said.

"Ah!" I jumped and almost lost my balance.

To my relief it was just the fox. "The name's Felix. May I be so bold to ask yours, pretty lady?"

I blushed slightly. "Genevieve."

The fox nodded. "It suits you." He stamped his paw on the tree's trunk a couple of times. "Could you let us down Madam Oak?"

The tree bent down and we slid gently to the leave strewn ground.

I studied the group more closely as I got to my feet and they all started walking towards me.

A hard lump formed in my throat. Every last one of them was a man.

It was going to be a long day.

**Some of you reading this may be thinking that I'm a…. What's the term? A prude? Is that it? I don't know. You'll have to let me know if that's it. **

**Random info that might explain some things****: I am homeschooled, people. I am never surrounded by the things I am told go on in public schools. Public schools are pretty close to alien to me. **


	5. Chapter 5

I have two words for you: Writer's Block. Yeah, it sucks, but, sadly, that is reality. So here it is.

Chapter Five

_Felix's POV _

I watched from ground level as the girl took several large, deep breaths. There was well hidden panic in her eyes, the kind you saw in an animal that often found its self cornered. The child on her back was unnaturally still and the baby was oddly quiet in the sling on her front. Her dress, if you call it that, was in taters. I could see where it had been patched up many times over with neat stitches as well as the new tares that split the bottom of the skirt into uneven sections.

Rohm, the leader of the border patrol, walked forward on silent hooves. I knew he had at least glimpsed the look in her eyes when he hesitated just out of arms reach before stretching out a hand. The girl- Genevieve as she had introduced herself- jerked back a pace on reflex. When Rohm stepped forward into range again, she took another step back, quickly following it up with a second for good measure.

Bumping into a centaur that had been standing behind her, she flinched away and pivoted to face him. As she turned she must have noticed just how close the others had become when she had been so focused on the leader.

Genevieve was now surrounded.

I couldn't help staring in fascination at her face as horror flitted lightning fast across it before being replaced by fear. Shaking to the point of collapse, she glanced around wildly for an escape route.

I knew exactly when she realized there was none, for she seamed to shrink in on herself and her chest heaved up and down. I could hear her breathing pick up as she started to hyperventilate and her eyes became unfocused. The child on her back screamed as the woman's eyes rolled up in her head and she collapsed the rest of the way.

Tavies, the centaur she had bumped into, caught her before she hit the ground.

~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~

I watched over the girl as she slept fitfully, twitching and whimpering occasionally. We had made good time getting back to camp after she had collapsed. Rohm had carried her awkwardly in his arms as we ran since she seamed terrified by the close contact even in her state of unconsciousness.

The little girl on the other hand had not made a sound since the woman had given way, not even objecting to being removed from her carrier. She had ridden on Tavies all the way back with a look of one born into down-trodden acceptance. It looked completely out of place on her four-year-old face and seamed to have bothered the patrol just as much as it had me.

The girl refused to speak to anyone Not even the most persuasive female centaurs could sway her. She was now lying at the woman's side, awake and staring into space. Her silence was unnerving and had everyone on edge. So much so that no one had bothered to check on them since they had been placed here nearly four hours ago.

The baby lay curled up on a large cushion, tiny fingers buried in my fur. I honestly have not idea how I had ended up in this position. No, really. When he was first put down to continue his nap, he squirmed and squalled, obviously unhappy. Call me a pushover, but I couldn't leave the little one like that.

I was an orphan too, once.

So I joined him on his bed, cuddling up to him. My tail wrapped around, hemming him in with fur. He quieted down quickly after that and here I still lay, watchful as ever like a faithful hound dog.

I chuckled at the thought. The comparison was ironic because most foxes would have been offended to be compared to one of the canine species, but I had been raised by one and found it a very accurate description.

A movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and I looked over at the bed.

~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~

_Genevieve's POV_

I rolled over and opened my eyes. I blink up at the cloth ceiling and frowned.

_Am I in a tent? _I wondered, then _why am in a tent?_

A noise from my left caught my attention. It sounded like someone was choking. Slowly sitting up, I turned my head towards the source and got pushed back down on the bed, hard. The breath got knocked out of me by the little girl that landed on my stomach, hugging me for all she was worth.

"A-aunty G-gena, I thought you'd n-n-never wake up!" she sobbed.

I automatically started stroking her hair, saying, "It's all right, it's all right," in a soothing voice.

I pushed myself into an upright position again and placed her securely on my lap where she burrowed down into me. My head felt kind of fuzzy and random thoughts kept popping up out of nowhere and floating lazily across my awareness like tumbleweeds.

The sheets and blankets were made of a soft, silky material.

Leah's hair was gleaming, someone had given her –and her cloths, for those were also clean- a bath.

The tent was a faded green color that reminded me of meadow grass and was obviously made from good quality canvas. Not a hole or tare anywhere.

The fog that seamed to cloud my head was probably the reason why I didn't notice my company, for all my looking around, until he cleared his throat. Startled, I whipped my head around to see that on the other side of the tent and slightly to my right sat a fox. He was curled around something on a pillow that looked suspiciously like a baby.

_Jeremiah?_ I wondered, holding my breath.

The fox shifted to reveal the baby's face. It was him. The breath came out as a loud sigh of relief that had the Fox raising an eyebrow. I blushed slightly but didn't look away.

"Felix?" I asked uncertainly, hoping it was him.

"The one and same," he said, sound amused.

He opened his mouth to say something else but closed it again, shooting a look at the door that clearly said someone was coming. Leah scrambled under the blanket, as if to hide, just before the flap was thrown open and in strode the leading centaur from earlier.

"Good, you're awake," he stated. "Are you alright? You gave us quite a scare this morning."

I could say the same thing to you," I retorted, then flinched, my eyes blinking closed for a second in anticipation of the expected slap.

It never came. I looked back up at him and, daring to meet his eyes, saw him staring down at me with a troubled expression.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said after a minute, his troubled look changing to sadness and understanding. "No one here is going to hurt you. No one anywhere is going to hurt you ever again."

He sounded and looked so sincere and I could feel that little seed of hope sprouting up. Even so, I was surprised to find my lips trembling and the almost foreign feeling of tears sliding down my face.

"Promise?" I pleaded.

I felt like my entire existence, and Leah's and Jeremiah's too, depended on his answer.

"I promise." He replied solemnly as he lowered himself to the ground and pulled me (and in the process Leah since she was still on my lap) to him as I cried like I hadn't done so in years.

In the first time since I could ever remember, I was hugged by a man as I cried and I was not afraid. In stead, I felt bursting with hope.

I was never again going to be beaten for speaking out of turn or burning food. Leah had the chance to grow up like a normal little girl. Jeremiah would never truly know what it meant to be worked to the bone.

Finally, after years of dreaming about this day, we were free.

~…*…~…*…~...*…~…*…~…*…~

You guys probably hate me right now don't you? I would hate me too in your shoes. That is, if anyone's even bothering to read this after, what? Three months of no updates? Something like that. I sincerely hope someone is reading this and will review. I have decided my dead line is every three weeks so if I don't update after three weeks tops, BUG THE CRAP OUT OF ME! I'm serious; it would help motivate me immensely. Thanks.

~feathers~


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

_Jasmine's POV_

I swear, God has a terrible sense of humor.

I stared down at my very feline paws and grimaced. They were large, too large compared to the rest of me, and orange.

_Orange_ I ask you.

And did I forget to mention the black stripes? I think I did. Well, there they were, up my legs and across my back, tail included.

That's right, I said _tail. _

Unless there was another creature that was orange and black striped that I didn't know about, I was suddenly a tiger.

Surprised? Yeah, me too.

Last time I check, if you were born a human, you staid a bloody human.

I needed the dirt under me with my claws and tried to remember how exactly I had gotten….where ever I was.

Trees were everywhere, leaves rustling in a breeze that I couldn't feel. The sky was almost completely hidden by foliage but I guessed it was about noon. The trees made it obvious that it was a forest, but how exactly had I managed to get to a forest? There weren't any forests in New York City, which is where I should have been.

I searched my memory for the events of last night and got hit with a ghost of a searing pain in the back of my head_. _

_I was curled on the grass of a park, clutching my head. Someone stood over me, a man, something large in his hand. My pink Coach bag swung on his arm at the very edge of my fading vision. The man dropped the object and it hit the dirt next to me with a thud. _

_A rock._

_"No…" I moaned, trying to stretch out a hand._

_I was rewarded with a kick to the head and a black fog slid over my eyes. _

I gasped and jerked back, tripping over my back feet and landing uncomfortable on my tail bone. Blinking away the spots that were soaring across my line of sight, I tried to make sense of what I just saw.

Had I been killed in a mugging gone wrong? If I had, it didn't explain what I was doing as a tiger in the middle of some random forest in who knew were.

"What the heck is going on?" I asked the thin air, not expecting an answer.

It really shouldn't have surprised me that I got one any way.

"I could ask you the same thing. I was under the impression that cats were supposed to be graceful."

I whipped around, looking for whoever had spoken.

"Up here," came an amused voice.

Looking up, I met the beady gaze of a little yellow canary.

I opened my mouth, but closed it again with a snap.

"What, cat got your tongue?" the canary asked cheekily as it hopped up and down on its branch.

"Oh, shut up," I huffed, "and keep your wise cracks to yourself or I'll be forced to eat you."

The canary just chuckled and shook his head. "My my, aren't you a prickly one? The name's Corny. May I be of service? You look a bit…hmm, lost."

I cocked my head at him, subconsciously angling one of my ears to hear better.

"That would be helpful…if I knew where I was going." I told him hesitantly.

If this wasn't some kind of weird dream, then I didn't know what it was. Might as well play along till I figured out what I was doing.

He winked conspiratorially at me and flapped down to a root protruding from the ground two feet away.

"A wanderer, eh? Just going where the wind blows you?" If birds could smile, Corny did right then. "I think we'll get along just fine, little kitty. If you don't have any where to go, why don't you come with me?"

There was a twinkle in his eyes and a kindness in his voice that had my mind made up. I liked the little canary; I would be a lot worse on my own, no matter whether or not this place was really or just in my head.

I nodded and trotted to keep up with Corny's pace.

Honestly? What else could I have done?

~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~

_Genevieve's POV_

I poked my head out the tent flap and looked around. No one was in the immediate vicinity, which was good because I didn't know if we were allowed to wander around by ourselves. Either way, both of us were getting restless with nothing to do. Slaves were not kept for their aptitude of laziness.

We, Leah and I, were alone in the tent and had been all morning. Someone had come for Jeremiah shortly after Rohm's (the centaur leader) visit to feed him and I hadn't seen him since. I had been okay with that at first because I knew he had to be fed and changed and I didn't have the things to do it myself.

That had been yesterday. Now I was really antsy, wondering why they hadn't brought him back.

Reaching back into the tent, I felt Leah's small hand latch onto mine, clinging tightly.

I wasn't the only one unsure about this.

I gave a gentle squeeze of reassurance and drew her up beside me. She glanced around shyly and, upon realizing no one was looking, relaxed slightly.

She turned and smiled up at me, my lips twitched into a smile in response.

"Let's go." I said quietly.

A look around had us quickly turning right and farther from the center of camp. Neither of us was very good at socializing. As we strolled along, the tents got fewer and the spaces between them wider. The farther from people we got, the more relaxed I felt and

Leah even started swinging on my hand.

It was good to see her acting like the care free little girl she should have been, not the serious-faced-to-old-for-her-age girl she had been at the…that other place.

I bit my lip out of habit and tried to turn my thoughts to something better.

"Look!" Leah said excitedly, "flowers!"

Following her finger I saw a patch orange flowers a little way into the trees.

I gave a soft smile looking down at the little girl that was now as good as my daughter, since, as much as I didn't want to think about it, it wasn't very likely her parents would not escape. That meant that it was now up to me to take care of her and Jeremiah.

They're lives were in my hands.

As dramatic as that would sound to most people, it was true. In the world we lived in, the kind of schooling you got as you grew up was what you survived or died by. I grew up with a lot of harsh truths as a slave, most of which Leah already knew at four-and-a-half, but Jeremiah was only one. He was still as yet untouched by the dark side of life. If I had anything to do about it, it would be many years in the future before he knew anything about that.

I truly smiled now as I banished such depressing thoughts from my mind. Like I said, that would be quite a while from now.

"Leah?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to go pick some flowers?"

She seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding.

We walked steadily into the trees and I prayed the peace would last.

Life must like a good laugh now and then, and it must have seen me as an easy target.


	7. Chapter 7

I decided this was going to be the story I worked on for the summer. Read and please review. I have the next chapter already written so as soon as I get… let's say between three and five reviews, I'll put it up. I promise I haven't abandoned this story.

Chapter Seven

_Corny's POV_

This youngster I had picked up sure was a strange one. She was clearly a native Narnian, but didn't seem to know anything about the country. The way she talked was different, her accent distracting. It made me wonder where she had come from for her to be so ignorant of the world around her.

I was pulled out of my thoughts yet again by Jasmine's voice, "Hey, Corny? Are we almost there?"

To my surprise, she sounded worried. Through the fading light I could see the hunched shape of her shoulders and was amazed at how small she looked. After all she couldn't have been that old. Judging by her size I'd guess she was just over a year.

Settling down in a bush at eye level, I cocked my head at her. "What are you so antsy about? We're making good time. If you're tired it's not too far," I told her reassuringly, though she didn't _look_ tired.

Somehow I had a feeling that wasn't it.

"Well, okay, but…" she trailed off and looked anxiously at the patches of sky through the trees. "It's getting pretty dark…"  
>She seemed to hunch farther into herself. There was a glimmer of fear in her eyes and the way she was shuffling her paws had me putting two and two together.<p>

"You're afraid of the dark." I said; I could have slapped my self at her look of shame for sounding so incredulous.

She nodded rather sheepishly and refused to look me in the eye, opting instead to study her paws.

Although cats weren't necessarily night animals, most were just as comfortable in the dark as they were in the sunlight because they could see just as well. That one could be afraid of the dark sounded ridicules even to me who had seen quite a lot of strange things in my travels.

_I wonder what's happened to her to have her so afraid of the dark?_ I thought maybe it would be too personal to ask at the moment.

I sighed. "I guess it can't be helped," I muttered under my breath then cursed at my self for being so stupid when I saw Jasmine lower her head even more.

_You idiot!_ I berated myself. _Of course she can hear you she's a cat for Aslan's sake!_

With a hop I was balancing on her head and soothingly ran my beak through the fur on her forehead in apology.

"Let's go," I told her gently, "There might even be a spot of supper waiting for us when we get there."

That idea was immediately forgotten as a scream echoed through the surrounding forest.

~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~

_Genevieve's POV_

We spent hours in the woods, just doing nothing in general. It felt strange not to have a mile long list of chores to have done by night fall, but no doubt I could get used to this. I wouldn't mind just living out in the middle of no where if I could forage for myself.

Just me and the kids and maybe a Talking Animal or two, but not people.

Definitely not people.

I had had enough experience with people to last me a couple life times. If I didn't see another man (I wouldn't mind another woman's company now and then) it would be too soon.

The woods were peaceful if not quiet. Birds were singing in the trees, bees buzzed among the flowers, and little critters rustled in the bushes.

Around mid afternoon we stumbled across a secluded field of wild flowers that was bordered on one side by a bubbly brook. It was a beautiful place to say the least so that was where we stayed the rest of the day. I even taught Leah to make flower crowns and chains. I fumbled through it at first because I couldn't remember quite how it went, but we both got the hang of it after a few tries. Then, after Leah had decorated the both of us in flower arrangements, we took a bath.

The water was wonderfully refreshing from the heat of the day and we took full advantage of it. Especially since I hadn't washed in four days or more, I was probably chasing the wildlife away with the smell. Something bubbled up and out of my throat and seemed to echo around the clearing. I stopped wide eyed and stared at my reflection in amazement.

Had I just laughed?

I hadn't done that in so long that it sounded weird to have it coming from me. There weren't many funny things in a slaves' life that honest to goodness laughter was more foreign than crying. I saw that Leah was looking at me curiously as if wondering what I was frowning about, making me realize that I was indeed frowning. I smiled and splashed her gently, making her squeal and splash back. It was so good to see her giggling and playing around and acting kind of goofy for once that I didn't have the heart to tell her to stop. We got out when Leah was completely knackered.

Lying out to dry fully clothed (just because I didn't know any one was in the area didn't mean they couldn't stumble upon us), Leah dropped off into sleep while I dozed contentedly propped up by a nearby tree.

Something woke me and I lurched upright, looking around. Leah, who was also awake, clutched at my skirt and stared wide eyed into the near by foliage. The knot that had quickly formed in my gut squeezed, telling me in no uncertain terms that something was not right.

What had woken us?

On first glance around the meadow it didn't appear to be any different than before we went to sleep, but something was indeed not as it had been. It struck me as I looked around that it was too dark. We should have still had the light of the setting sun but even that was blocked by clouds that were getting bigger and darker by the minute, building into to an angry rain storm.

The second thing that caught my attention and (I cursed myself for not noticing first hand) turned my blood to ice was the horse grazing on the other side of the brook from us. Usually horses don't bother me, and it didn't, it was the saddle draped across a thick tree branch.

We had company.

I unconsciously ground my teeth together in agitation and looked around wildly. There was no doubt in my mind that it was going to start pouring soon, we needed shelter. Unfortunately, the closest thing was the cave the horse stood just outside of, which already had a flickering fire started.

A low whine of fear escaped as I realized what I would have to do. If we didn't want to catch a potentially fatal cold, I would have to approach the man (for no woman would go riding alone) in the cave and ask if we could join him.

I hoped Leah couldn't see my shaking hands as I detached her from my skirt.

"Stay here. I'll be rite back."

It took all of my strength of will to start forward; it was my responsibility to Leah that kept me going. I could not it good conscious let her fall ill if there was something I could do about it.

Nimbly, I hopped from rock to rock across the water. As I got closer, the lump in my throat grew bigger and the knot in my gut became unbearably tight. I started to panic.

_I-I can't do this. I can't. I can't!_

I was floundering in my own head. I wanted to step back but my legs wouldn't move. In the next minute everything happened so fast and the choice was ripped away from me.

"What do you think you are doing?" a clearly male voice asked from behind me.

I jumped and gave a little "eek!" and tried to turn to look at him when a large hand came down on my shoulder and all sense left me and I screamed.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

_Jasmine's POV_

A blood curdling scream ripped through the air -and my ears-, pitching just under the level of a dog whistle. I flattened them to my head, flinching at the pain.

Another scream and I was off like a shot before I'd realized I'd even moved. Some instinct was driving me in what I assumed to be the right direction. I followed it without question (which I assure you is _not_ normal), leaving Corny in the dust.

A third scream started to rise before being cut off in the middle.

_This girl has obviously never smoked a day in her life to have lungs like that! _I couldn't help thinking as I leapt high over a shrub and slid to a stop in a near-silent skid.

I shook grass and dirt clods off my feet and took a good look around the clearing.

I saw what I was looking for standing about thirty yards away and on the other side of a stream. Just the sight made me grind my teeth and give a little growl of indignation, which I managed to startle myself with.

I would have laughed at myself in any other situation.

What had my hackles up was the tall, well muscled red head with his arms around a woman who looked very much like she didn't want to be there. That is, if her thrashing was anything to go by.

As I watched, he tightened his grip around the woman's waist and I glimpsed the hand that was over her mouth before the struggle turned them away. He leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. My money said that whatever it had been, he did not get the desired effect. She tried and failed to wriggle free. Another growl came out of me, this one on purpose, loud and definitely angry.

That was the last straw.

I bolted across the space between us, crossing the stream in a single bound, and pounced on the unguarded back of the man.

~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~

_Unanimous POV_

It started with me placing a halting hand on her shoulder and quickly progressed to a wrestling match with one arm around her waist to stop her struggling and a hand over her mouth so she couldn't keep that blasted _shrieking_. I felt something wet slide across my hand and I jerked it away, not expecting such a childish trick. It was not enough for her to get free, but she wasn't done yet.

She reared back and hit me in the nose with the top of her head. I grunted at the impact, half expecting but still surprised by the signature _crunch_ and spurt of blood that marked a broken nose. It was closely followed by a flaring pain from my hand.

_Not only has she licked me, but now she's bitten me too!_ I thought angrily

_This woman was going to feel the back of my hand!_

It never got around to that.

Before I could do anything, the woman was gone, and my hand wasn't the only thing hurting. I violently sucked in air as what felt like a dozen daggers stabbed into my shoulders.

The extra wait pushed me off of my feet and I feel, my head colliding with a rock with a resounding crack. At least that what it sounded to me as it echoed around my brain. My vision blurred in an out, but I could have sworn I felt an animal nose sniffle my head then mutter, "serves him right". I saw my horse rear before my vision went.

~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~

_Genevieve's POV_

I ran.

I crossed the stream, automatically scooping Leah up and onto my back as I passed, and ran.

I ran and ran and ran.

It was all I could do to stay up right on legs of jelly. Ghostly screams of fear and pain resounded against my skull, memories of the nightmare I thought I had left behind. They slid across the inside of my eyelids as I ran blindly through the trees.

There was Old Henna, the mid wife that had delivered both Leah and her brother. I had found her propped up in the corner of the hen house, every single bone showing through the thread-bare fabric of her shift. She had been starved to death after delivering yet another girl for the head of the house.

Next came Little Henry, five years old and sentenced to the mines because his parents had abandoned him and he had been caught stealing bread. He died in a collapse three days later.

Juniper, sweet innocent Juniper, was one of the first victims of Master Braden after he came home from the war. I had been only twelve at the time, but I had understood perfectly when they carried her bruised and broken body by to be burned.

All the times I had wanted to cry, scream, and shout at the injustice of the world, but did not for the fear of the whip.

There were dozens of them, creating a never ending flow that was drowning me. They made it hard to breath, my vision grew spotted. My sense of feel drifted and I couldn't even smell rain anymore. I staggered to a stop and my feet came out from under me.

Leah stiffly tumbled free, not making a sound as she hit the ground hard enough to make a grown man cry out. My muscles weren't reacting to the commands to get up my brain was sending them. The trees were blotted out by darkness as I flopped loosely in the dirt. The last to go was my hearing, which took almost a full minute, leaving me to listen to something thumping around before it was replaced by snuffles then a soothing purr.

~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~

_Felix's POV_

A flurry of activity swept through camp as the inhabitants realized that the woman, Genevieve, was nowhere to be found along with the little human girl.

Tavies found me watching over the baby Jeremiah with orders from Rohm to search for Genevieve myself. The idea was that I follow her scent trail and bring her back before it rained.

They worried that she would not willingly come back with any of the others as they were mostly men. I hoped I could just find her in time, before she contracted pneumonia, and got her back safely.

Her disappearance was anything but timely with us expecting a visit from the Royals any day now.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

_Genevieve's POV_

My sight came back first as it always did and I was hit with a strong sense of de ja vu when I opened my eyes to see the tent's green ceiling.

I frowned and was immediately flooded with doubts.

_Had it all been a dream? Had I not really gone walking in the woods? If so, where had the clearing full of flowers come from? Or the_ –I shuddered at the thought- the man!?

I screwed my eyes shut tight as if to block out my own thoughts, but they kept coming.

_If it had all been a dream, was I even free? Would I wake up to Cook shaking my shoulder and telling me to stoke the fires and start preparing breakfast? Oh good Lord! Master Braden! He-_

"Hey. Hey, it's okay. You're safe, I promise," said a soothing voice next to my ear.

It was punctuated by a purring sound and the feeling of something wet and rough sliding across one bare shoulder. Fur lay under my head as well as encircling my upper body, giving off warmth.

_My hearing and the sense of feeling had returned at least. Usually it took long- Wait! My_ **bare** shoulder?!

I quickly sat up right, scrabbling to remove a mound of blankets. Once moved, they revealed the tattered remains of my dress. I clutched at the shredded pieces of material and tried to hike them back up over my shoulders to no avail.

"There's no point," the same voice said. "That thing you call a dress may have made it through a lot, but it certainly didn't stand very long against the forest."

I felt something warm and soft flick across my back.

~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~

Jasmine's POV

I was panting like a dog when I caught up to her. She had collapsed in a heap on the ground, white as a ghost and soaked in sweat. Whether it was from exertion or fear, I didn't know; either way, she wasn't getting up any time soon.

I couldn't tell how old the girl was, given the state of things. From her size she looked to be about my age, but the dress, ragged as it was, still covered her enough to be considered decent and was in no way tight. What it didn't hide was the bruises. Large, blotchy marks were starting to appear, covering her upper arms where the sleeves had been shredded into nonexistence and the side of her neck where the man had held her. I had no doubt that there would be a matching one on her mid-drift.

A mournful hiccup drew my attention to a little girl that couldn't have been older than two, she was so tiny. Every bone was clearly defined and her veins shone blue from her pale skin.

Unlike the other girl, her dress was too small. The hem settled just above the knees and the top part was stretching at the seams, making it harder for her to breath. Part of the sleeves had been torn to make bigger openings for her arms which had numerous bug bites accompanied by scratch marks left from her nails. Even so, the younger girl looked to be better off at the moment than the older, who was covered in oozing scratches from head to toe.

The little girl hiccupped again and curled tighter around herself, then flinched as if the action hurt. I smelled salt and on closer inspection realized that she was crying in her sleep.

I felt like going back to that man and ripping his heart out and stomping on it. If I found out that he was responsible for this, he better admire the stars, because he wasn't going to live to see the next sunrise.

I didn't know I was grinding my teeth until pain went up through my gums from where my canines had nicked them. I tasted blood on my tongue, coppery like a shiny new penny. I swallowed thickly and pushed the little one with my paws until she was next to the older one. Then, with a look at the gray clouds that where doing a pretty good job at expressing just how depressing the situation was without any sign of let up, I spread out next to them in the hopes of giving them some warmth.

Without really thinking about it, I found myself purring.

~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~…*…~

Felix's POV

When I had set out to find them, this scenario hadn't even crossed my mind, and with good reason. I stood on one side of what appeared to be a stalemate. Both sides unable to make a move, neither willing to back down.

I inched a paw forward from my position under a pricker bush only to get a warning hiss. I was annoyed to say the least, soaking wet from nearly an hour in the drizzle and being snapped at by a half-grown tiger cub who refused to take no for an answer.

Gnashing my teeth in frustration, I dug my back legs into the moist dirt and prepared to leap. If I made it to Leah and Genevieve, who were unconscious a good ten feet away, I was positive the little tiger would back off. The tiger was doing her best to keep me from them for what reason I couldn't discern. She refused to talk, answering all my questions and needlings with swipes of her paws and annoyed wuffles.

I was considering just baking off for a bit, but then Leah moved her head to the side slightly and distracted the striped cat. The moment she was no longer looking at me, I was moving.

Leaves rustled and water droplets scattered. In the next moment I was spotted and lunged at. Teeth snapped together, breaking skin. Blood welled up and pain came through loud and clear. She had me by the left haunch and with a paw pressing down on my neck, there was no way to escape.

I didn't think there was every -or would ever- be a time when I would be so grateful to hear the thud of hooves on dirt and the cries of the warrior centaurs as they brandished their weapons.

**A\N**: You know the part just know where I mentioned annoyed waffles? The grammar check kept trying to change it to waffles. I thought about leaving it to see if anyone said anything, but decided against it. Let me know what you think.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

_Corny's POV_

When that dreadful scream shattered the peace of the forest, Jasmine, the dear girl, jumped nearly three feet in the air in fright and bolted. I fully expected for her to run away in the opposite direction, but she surprised me by heading towards the ghastly wail.

It didn't leave me much choice but to attempt to follow.

I use the word 'attempt' because she soon left me to lag behind as she darted through the gaps in the trees faster than I thought her capable. I lost her among the darkening shadows almost right away and minutes later decided that I would have to continue come morning if at all. I would never be able to find her in the dark, not if she kept up that speed.

I lighted soundlessly on the branch of the nearest tree, a pine, and scooted as close to the trunk as I could. Tucking my head under a wing I, couldn't help thinking that, in reality, I would probably never see her again.

I was a rover at heart, going where ever the wind took me and never staying any where very long.

_Ah, well._

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_Jasmine's POV_

Lets back up for just a moment and take a look at the big picture. (i.e. what's happened in the last eight hours, give or take.)

1.) I (this part's a bit fuzzy) get mugged while walking in a park.

2.) I wake up as a cat and take a walk with a talking canary (which I've seemed to have lost).

3.) I rescue a girl (who was being attacked by a rather sketchy man) and run after her in the rain.

4.) Presently, I was chomping on a fox.

A fox.

A _live_ fox.

With the fur still attached.

I was freaking out in my head, unable to say anything because my mouth was still full of fox. I began to panic and backed away, pulling my teeth free with a yank. I cringed as the fox howled in pain at my none-to-gentle handling.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" I kept muttering, out loud or in my head I didn't know. I didn't care.

Something liquid dripped onto my tongue and I automatically swallowed, tasting blood. I knew this time it wasn't mine and I wanted to throw it back up, but couldn't. Stomach churning, I backed up a step and was stopped by a tree. The rough bark of the trunk dug into my side as I pressed up against it in an attempt to get farther from the wounded animal. My stomach rolled as blood welled up and began to flow in a slow trickle from what was clearly the indentations of my jaws.

The sound of galloping hooves echoed off the trees as other people came bursting into the small clearing. A spear flew through the air and stuck in the tree behind me, ruffaling the fur on my back as it passed. Adrenalin spiked and I jumped away, nearly landing on the girls. Something was clamoring in my head, telling me to run, telling me that I wasn't the hunter here. I mentally squashed it and crouched over the still unconscious bodies.

While I had been distracted with the…animal…we had been surrounded. Another spear shot forward and I lunged, catching the shaft in my mouth and ripping it out of my surprised attacker's hand. It was hurriedly dropped when I saw a third start to move out of the corner of my eye and turned. The tip seemed to glint in the dark as it came towards me. It was too fast or I was too slow, but either way, I knew I was a goner when I saw the look on his face.

I hunched my shoulders and turned slightly in anticipation of a hit that never came. I looked up through my lashes to see the dreaded thing held posed over me, frozen in mid thrust. I followed the shaft up with my eyes, taking in his muscled horse legs and crush-you-to –dust hooves, his black beard and mane that had been allowed to run wild, and finally his face.

Following his gaze while trying to move as little as possible, I inched my head around to see the little girl conscious and alert. That wasn't what made my eyes widen though. It was the fact that she had, without me even noticing, crawled up to my side on her hands and knees so we were almost shoulder to shoulder. As I watched, unable to move, she lifted a dirty hand and carefully ghosted it down my side.

Then, without any tangible warning, she rocked back on her heels and launched herself at me. My breath whooshed out under her abrupt wait as she landed half on top of me, arms wrapped securely around my neck, her mud streaked face buried in my damp fur. A muffled "No!" was heard upon contact, surprising all.

An order was called and the horse-man with the spear lowered it. Another one and he –reluctantly- slid it into a contraption on his back. One knelt down on his nobly horse knees (what were these creatures? Horse-men?) to attend to the fox. The others, with a few left to watch us (read: me), started to talk among themselves, an occasional gesture or look, friendly or otherwise, sent our way indicated the subject. I wasn't paying as much attention to them as I probably should have been, but I got that much at least.

Instead of trying to eves drop on their little huddle, I was focused on the petite little thing now balling her eyes out on my fur.

"Hey, hey," I said to get her attention. "It's alright. You can stop crying now, they won't hurt you," I said in my most soothing voice.

She slowly looked up at me with a tear stained face, eyes bright and red rimmed. "I…_hic_…I… _hic_," she tried to say something, but started to hiccup in the middle, hindering her process. The continual stream of tears didn't help either.

"Shhhhhhh," I told her after the fifth attempt and hiccup. "It'll be fine, you'll see." Of its own accord, my tongue darted out and licked up a big fat tear that had been midway down her cheek.

It tasted salty.

The girl gave a watery smile and giggled at the funny look I must have had on my face. Could you blame me? I mean, seriously, I just _licked_ her _face_. I wrinkled my nose. If _that_ wasn't proof that I was getting comfortable as a cat, I didn't know what was.

The clearing of a throat brought my attention, as flighty as it was at the moment, back around to the group of weapon-wielding horse-men.

Uh-oh.

Time to get down to business and it was looking mighty grim if the faces of the horse-men were anything to go by. Even before I saw the way one of the younger ones was cradling the fox, I knew the consequences were going to be _hell_.

That was the moment all the adrenalin that had surfaced when the fox first appeared deiced to drain away, leaving my with an aching head and an even more aching legs. I don't think I had ever run so far in my life.

I started to shake uncontrollably and the world seemed to spin all around me before beginning to recede.

"Kitty!" came the little girl's voice through the haze. "Kitty, what's wrong?"

Pain.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. My tongue wouldn't move, not even to swipe over my teeth. For a moment, it hurt so much I thought I was going to die then the pain faded into numbness. I couldn't feel my legs or the little one as she tugged at my fur.

I couldn't feel anything.

"Kitty! Kit-!"

I floated away then, and it all disappeared.

A\N: If the last couple of chapters seem out of order, I'm sorry, but I think it came out alright. Happy 2013 everybody and I hope you enjoy this update.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

_Jasmine's POV_

A cage! I couldn't freaking believe it! They had stuck me in a _cage_!

My tail lashed back and forth in agitation and I whipped around for another three strides before coming up against the other wall. Restlessness and frustration coursed through me like fire, heating my blood to a near boil.

The need to run was so bad that my legs were shaking. My mouth was parched from hours without liquid, but I dared not drink from the bowl in the corner. Call me paranoid, but although it was completely clear and looked safe, I had the sneaking suspicion that it was drugged; probably with something to knock me out again. Either way, I wasn't going to chance it.

I wanted out, and I wanted it right _now_! If I was in here for another minute, I was going to go crazy! Being stuck inside this wood-woven cell was making me feel like a _caged tiger_… The thought made me stop mid step and stare at my orange and black striped paw. …Which was exactly what I was?

I blinked at the realization that, maybe that was my problem. I had never been claustrophobic before, but I also hadn't been in the form of an animal whose habitat was many times larger than what I was currently inhabiting. I knew from a project I did for school years ago that tigers needed space just like any other member of the big cat family and this was far from spacey.

I sat down abruptly, flopping onto the grassy floor with a depressed huff. It had never really dawned on me that _I was a tiger_. I mean- I knew what I was the moment I caught sight of my feet-turned-paws, but I don't think it had really sunk in until just now how much of a difference that actually made. I was a basically a human consciousness stuffed into an animal's body. One, that I might add, was vastly different from my original.

The idea was unnerving, but got me thinking. I didn't know very much about cats in general or tigers in particular because I had never been interested. I'd never even had one as a pet (a cat, not a tiger), so I wasn't even sure what I was capable of.

I frowned down at my paws and realized with a start that I had been needing the grass under me with my nails (no, claws!), exposing moist soil as I went. Flexing my toes experimentally, I dug my…claws…into the dirt. A twitch and a second later I was staring at claw-less cat toes. What the heck? I flexed them again and saw the sharp, curved claws that cats were known for come back out of what seemed to be nowhere. So where-?

Oh._ Duh! _I would have smacked myself in the forehead if I could have. Cat claws were retractable! I repeated it several times experimentally and watched, fascinated, as they slid in under my fur and back out again.

"Cool," I whispered.

I glanced around the tent where I kept company with the camp's extra supplies to make sure I was still alone. There wasn't any real way to determine whether or not someone was lurking among the stacks if they didn't want to be known, so I had to assume that no-one was there, even though I didn't think it was likely that they had left me unattended.

Padding over to the nearest corner, I peered out at what kept what basically amounted to a woven cover attached to the ground. I had tried several hours earlier to break through the wall itself without any luck; the thin wood hadn't even cracked, not even a little bit.

With my face pressed up against the mesh, I stared with narrowed eyes at the thin strand of braided rope that was pulled taut between the upper corner and a stake buried in the ground approximately two feet away. There was an identical set at the other three corners as well, effectively tying the whole thing down. I knew I had no way of pulling the stakes up even if I could have reached them, so I decided to try something else. It was a bit of a stretch - literally as well as figuratively – but I thought, _What did I have to loose in trying?_

I poked my right paw through one of the bigger holes in the weave and pawed at the rope. I figured that if I could get my claws into it, I could some how cut it in two. I wiggled around and tried different angles. It took a minute before…Ah-ha! I caught one in a strand and pulled. It gave with a soft, barely audible _snap!_ I gave a Cheshire cat's grin and fished for another one.

I was _so_ ready to be out of this cage.

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_Felix's POV_

I gritted my teeth and held back a whine as one of the medics poured a stinging potion that was supposed to help stave off infection over the wound on my mid-section. It bubbled white froth and made little hissing-popping sounds as it settled into the deep teeth marks.

They had been bleeding sluggishly for a couple hours and had only just started to clot up a few minutes ago. With how hard the tiger had bitten down, it was amazing I had gotten away with just some bruising and avoided any broken ribs entirely. I was positive I would be stuck with a faint scar in the shape of that particular animals jaw for the rest of my life, though the medic was optimistic that if it didn't fade entirely, the fur would grow to cover it given time.

I was undecided on whether too be proud of it as my first battle scar as an agent of the King or embarrassed that a cat barely out of cub-hood had brought me down so quickly. Either way, after the medic was finished wrapping the wound and had turned away, I carefully got to my feet and walked out into the open air. Both my ribs and my over-stressed muscles protested at the idea of anything faster than a walk, so I turned and headed slowly towards the tent where I knew the two humans were sleeping.

As I drew away from the medical tent, a flash of orange against a back drop of green caught my attention. I turned to see that confounded tiger's eyes and nose poke out from under the edge of a ten flap and quickly look around before ducking back under. A second later, she appeared again, this time emerging entirely. I backed up behind a neighboring tent and watched as she pressed herself down into the eighteen inch high grass growing along the side of the supply tent as two lady centaurs passed by, deep in conversation.

When they had turned another corner, the cat glanced from side to side (completely missing me in the process) before sitting up. A shift in the slight, early-summer breeze brought me up wind of the cat, making me tense. I prayed to Aslan that she wouldn't catch my scent.

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_Jasmine's POV (again)_

It took me a while –and the entire first rope- to get the hang of it, but once I had it down pat, the second one was almost easy. I say 'almost' because after the first couple of strands, my claws started to feel like someone was trying to pull them off. It didn't hurt exactly; it was more like someone was tugging at them. It was disconcerting more than anything and I began to ignore it after five minutes of worry and examination. They seemed fine, so I just got on with it.

I figured that I only needed two down, because without them the other two became slack and were pretty much useless when it came to keeping 'a lid on things' so to speak. It was when I started laughing at my own joke that I knew the place was really starting to get to me. If I had been back home, I would have rolled my eyes at whoever had said something "so lame" and flipped my hair over shoulder.

But I wasn't home, was I? As confidant as I had been in my convictions in those screaming matches that I would be better off on my own and I couldn't wait to go; _that_ notion had quickly melted under the heat of reality.

About ten minutes later, I nosed up under the lip of the over-turned basket and wiggled through, lifting it up as I went. Once I was out, I jumped away, remember to just in time to move my tail out of the way before it came thudding back down to the ground again.

I gave a glorious cat stretch, paws reaching forward out front and behind in the air." Ahhhh…" I sighed as my back cracked. It felt good to be out of that thing, but now the itch in my legs had picked up into something more like a buzz. My muscles felt all twitchy, jumping under my skin in anticipation. I wanted to run. And I would, once I got out of here. No way was I staying after yesterday's fiasco.

I poked my head out of the tent flap. Now, where to start?


	12. Author's Note, Read It!

This is an author's note! Please read it!

Okay, I realize I've left this for a long time, but reality came back and bit me in the butt to inform me it was still here. Darn inconvenient, that. A lot of things happened: family vacation (seven weeks people! SEVEN!) With my rather crazy (and I do mean losing-her-memory-and-accusing-people-of-things-that-never-happened-crazy) grandmother. My grandfather is perfectly fine beyond heart problems, thank the Lord. Homework piled up and I had Algebra 2 all through the summer. On July 14 I lost someone very dear to me; a little girl a couple of weeks from being three and a half named Sidney Joy. So we had that. And I got a job. Then school started and the holidays piled in.

But now I'm back, and have decided to go over and add to and redo some sections, which means you should read them again as they are done. This note will be replaced once I get up to this chapter. Also, there will be two very significant changes: Genevieve's personality\behavior in the beginning will be changed and Jasmine's back story (what little I've put in so far) and her entrance into the story will be altered. Just a heads up.

Also, I'm debating whether or not the baby should be excluded. He probably will be, but I wanted to know your thoughts on the subject. Something about Chapter one does bother me, but I can't put my finger on it so it wont be changed. The second chapter on the other hand should be up right after this. (It will be replacing the old one.)

Thanks,

Feathers


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